Carlotta & the Great Grandparents from MA

Above photo: Great Grampy C and Carlotta, enjoying a laugh together.

Below photo: Who's having the best time? GG or Carlotta?

Video: Great Grampy to the rescue of a stuck toddler!

A Blog of A Different Topic

OK.

I was going to post a most adorable video of Sofie & her dance classmates dancing to a 2 minute blurb of "Thriller" by M. Jackson. They learned the routine today & showed it to us @ the end of class. Adorable! She loves to dance & really got into her zombie character.

However...

My camera keeps saying the attachment is too big and I have no idea how to compress it on my phone in order to post it! So, if anyone knows Sofie & would like to see the video... ask me to show it to you the next time we meet. I saved it on my phone.

I snapped the above photo of a project she did in her preschool. I'm totally going to add this to my list of Halloween projects to do w/kids. Looks fun, easy and not too scary!

Adjusting

I am adjusting to working part-time. And in good ways, to boot.

• My house gets some sort of sprucing up, de-cluttering or upkeep done... every day.
• I can tinker with recipes & have B give me his opinions on the "improvements" or his silence if he doesn't have anything good to say!
• My cats get outdoors a lot more.
• My Christmas shopping is only 3 ornaments away from being done. If I haven't got a gift for you in my house, you're not getting one from us! Maybe a card though. I haven't got around to do those yet. Oh, and the gifts I do have ARE WRAPPED! No peeking, C!
• Laundry is always done.
• Yard work is slowly getting done instead of the other way around! I may have grass again next spring instead of dandelions!

Well, I'm off to take my Baked Ziti out of the oven. B has Scouts tonight & dinner will be ready for him! I'm such a good wife!

Carlotta & her Parents Visit with GG & Great Grampa C!

This is Carlotta with her great grandmother, GG. She & Great Grampa Charlie were in VA, on vacation & invited T, M & Carlotta to spend some time with them @ their timeshare.

After a bath, spending time with Great Grampa Charlie!

This is the bath! Carlotta looks so tiny in it!

"I'm all done with my waffle!"

Carlotta must be on a SEE FOOD diet! This is what her waffle looks like, all chewed up! SEE?

I hope everyone is having a great time @ the timeshare! I'm not jealous, much! My turn is coming in about 3 weeks! B & I will be spending some time before the holidays w/Carlotta & her parents. Don't tire them out, R & C!!

How Fast They Grow

It's been 2 weeks since I last saw my former charges.

Kaya's 5 years old now & Colin will be 7... in 2 weeks! Connor turned 9 last month.

Tomorrow's their annual Halloween party, though this years party is NOT associated with their birthdays. I had planned on attending, but with the rain we had last weekend & my week days filled w/watching children... my own yard, with all its leaves, has been neglected.

I know my body! It won't handle yard work AND going to an evening party.

I'm so old now!

Earlier today, I watched Anna as her Mom took a test to become mega-certified in nursing. Anna was chatty again! We played w/Matchbox, drew w/chalk & she fed me more plastic food!

In the 6 weeks I've watched her, she has grown so much.

I went Christmas shopping/hunting for Carlotta today too. I can't wait to see how much she has grown! It was fun looking for toys for her.

Some things I bought for full price, other stuff was saved from an attic, while even more was purchased @ Goodwill! All in all, I think I did well!

She will love the stuff! Her mother will play with the stuff more than Carlotta!

Her father will roll his eyes! Not to worry, M!

I kept the size of your living space in mind when making my finds!

Kids grow so fast.

I bought C a present for under the tree. A real grown-up present (and it's NOT a car!) She'll love it!

This is shaping up to be a good gift choosing season for me, I hope!

(as you remember, I'm not very good @ choosing gifts!)

Just My Luck!

I cannot claim to have toilet trained my children.

They were both fortunate to be enrolled in a great daycare (Under the Rainbow) during that period of their life. I only re-enforced at home what Tricia had taught them @ daycare!

I am eternally grateful to her for helping me!

Three and a half years ago, I found myself toilet training Colin and exactly one year later, his sister, Kaya. I still can't believe I was successful & how quickly it all happened!

Thank you, Junior Mints!

One for pee. Two for poop.

I'm again in a household where I need to assist in toilet training. She started last week just by sitting on the potty. It was hit or miss as to whether she actually went!

Until today!

During snack, SHE announced the need to pee. I was skeptical because her sister was not already on her way to pee (Anna follows Sofie, everywhere!).

She shut the door "for privacy" (at least that's what I think she said) and 10 seconds later, she announced I needed to give her an M&M (her reward for peeing). She had peed a good 1/2 cup!

After reminding her how to wipe then wash her hands, she got her reward.

Why am I posting about peeing & toilets?

Well, I'm proud of myself too!

Someone else trained my kids, now I'm returning the favor. A much appreciated favor to boot! Also, I hope someone will keep me dry as I age & revert back to disposable diapers.

LOL!

No, really.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

Cover your ears!

I'm about to say it.... CHRISTMAS!

I know, Halloween hasn't even arrived & I'm talking Christmas!

But I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Even if I do not have any prospects of gifts (which is very likely this year), I still LOVE CHRISTMAS!

I have begun my annual search for the perfect Christmas tree ornaments for C, T, M, Carlotta & in memory of Evergreen.

I, we, decided long ago, the ornaments I give must have a reason behind them or be specifically requested, no random snowmen or angels.

T has given me several ideas to help me choose hers, M & Carlotta.

I went to the Christmas Dove today for ideas & possible purchases of ornaments, worthy of giving to my loved ones.

I was greeted with Christmas music. The carol, "O, Come All Ye Faithful" was softly playing. My mood & spirits were lifted.

Ahhh. Even as I gasped at a tiny, glass ornament marked $119.00, I was very relaxed!

I gently put that one down & moved on.

The entire upper floor was dedicated to window displays of electric trains, Christmas villages & wooden Melissa & Doug toys. I'll be back later in the buying season to explore this section further as T has requested several items from this line of toys for Carlotta!

Hint, hint to C! What a great gift this could be from a favorite aunt!

All the while, Christmas music continued playing!

I left after about an hour. I was able to find an ornament for T and Evergreen.

As I drove home, I wished I had purchased a CD of Christmas music to keep me relaxed. The rain had started, it was windier & colder. My relaxed mood was gone by the time I got home. Bummer.

The ornaments I purchased are within my line of sight while I type in this entry. I'm relaxed again. I love Christmas!

More Halloween Craftiness

As I wait for the lasagna for tonight's dinner to finish cooking (Thanks Krista, for your ricotta free recipe!)

I'll show you some pics of the crafts Sofie & I made while Anna was sleeping.

I was going to paint wooden spoons & we'd decorate them as Halloween creatures. Ben's had several FOAM shapes already cut out! Just had to glue the decorations on and string the beads!

Voila! (I know I say this word a lot! Sorry.)

One hour later, we had 3 very cute crafts to display!

I plan to do the wooden spoons craft for Thanksgiving or Christmas though. A bunch of assorted holiday characters together in a recycled vase are very adorable!

Anna was a chatty little girl. I've begun to understand many of her sounds & their meanings! Sofie has a HUGE imagination! We played outdoors in their wooded area of the yard. Both girls were insistent that they were in the deep, dark woods! At various times, these trees were houses, stores, cars and fairyland.

During our play, I said or did something that Anna thought was "bad."

She put me in a time-out.

The rule @ their house... you stay in time out for as many minutes as you are years old.

Sofie said I had to stay there for 80 minutes!!

I was offended at first, then realized 80 minutes was a perfect amount of time for a nap!

If only!

Hot Soup, Good Company!

It is Monday again!

The Inghams came over for soup, grilled sandwiches & cards.

We love these friends!

I made the homemade tomato soup recipe.

All tasted it, said they loved it.

Since canned tomato soup is what is usually served with grilled sandwiches,

my soup recipe had no choice but to taste better than canned!

I made it "pretty" with some Parmesan Crisps as a garnish!

Tomato Soup (serves 8-10) (a crock pot recipe)

*One, 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, undrained (avoid the seasoned varieties, go for plain crushed tomatoes)

*4 cups low sodium chicken broth

*1 tsp oregano flakes

*1 tsp basil flakes

*2 cups heavy cream

*salt & pepper to taste (we thought it didn't need salt & pepper when garnished w/parmesan cheese)

-In crock pot, combine tomatoes w/its juices & the chicken broth

-Stir in the oregano & basil

-Cover & cook on HIGH (4-6 hrs) I found 4 hrs to be MORE than enough time!

IF there are large chunks of tomato pcs, remove them and puree them in a blender.

I used an immersion blender & it worked great!

Be careful! The soup is very hot & will burn your skin if you are careless!

-Add the cream, slowly while stirring. Replace any blended tomatoes to the pot!
-Stir well and re-cover
-Heat another 30 minutes & serve

Possible toppings that have been said to be good with tomato soup:

A pat of butter, croutons, sour cream, cheddar cheese, rice, goldfish or oyster crackers, onion-flavored crisp chips, Frito corn chips, and Parmesan Crisps.

I used Alton Brown's recipe from the Food Network website for Parmesan Crisps. Yummo!

Crash!!

It has happened again.

B was involved in another auto accident. It brings his total to 4 since May of 2010.

In the first three, he was rear-ended by other drivers not paying attention.

This afternoon, he says it was solar glare.

He was making a left hand turn out of the grocery store parking lot,

after coming to a complete stop, I'm sure!

He says the Raymond NH fire chief's car is small & red & was lost in the sun.

(That's right, he was hit by the fire chief!)

B tried to accelerate once he realized he was going to be hit, but it was too late!

B is OK, though as the night goes on, he's feeling a little sore.

As for his truck?

Well, the insurance company is coming to pick it up tomorrow & will bring it to a body shop for an estimate. B thinks (and hopes) it will be totaled.

We were in the process of looking for a new vehicle, hoping to have one by Christmas. Now our time table may have been moved up! I hear October is the best time to buy a car anyway.

Wish us luck!

Fall N Down

I began to do some fall cleaning.

Things like: washing the windows, vacuuming out the dead bugs in the sills, putting down some storm window & getting ready to shrink wrap the windows.

I hoped to get a lot done, but I stretched, a bit too much, in a direction my old back really didn't want to go and the pain that resulted has made me change my plans for today.

I'm only down... not down & out. It feels like I irritated my sciatica nerve. That pesky nerve I never knew even existed until C sat on it for 9 months back in 91!

Now, when I do too much, it flares up.

I guess I'll do the dishes & switch some laundry.

On a happier note: B & I are finalizing our trip to see Carlotta & her parents! Veterans Day weekend & a little beyond is looking good thus far. And there is a possibility that Carlotta's parents will disappear for one day so we can spend the WHOLE DAY with our granddaughter! Very excited about that!

Food!

I came home from work, STARVING!

If you had seen the plastic food I had eaten & the combinations of plastic food, you'd wonder why I was so hungry!

I was served tea with a sprig of broccoli, a lettuce wrap filled with a hamburger roll, chicken pot pie that looked very much like a raspberry pie and some cake for dessert! I also had a hard boiled egg with a large loaf of french bread in a pink bowl. I tried to wash it down with a swig of milk from the baby's bottle, but I was told, "NO!"

The girls had something else in their play oven to feed me when their Dad came home! Just in time for him to be served plastic food!

He brought a REAL pizza with him, so he was successful in avoiding his daughters culinary efforts! He's missing out!

I sent B out to the nearby Subway for a Chicken/Bacon Ranch sub! I'm not hungry anymore!

I'll make real food tomorrow. Perhaps some Rustic Chicken Stew, in the slow cooker, so we can smell it cooking... ALL DAY!

Simon's Cat in 'Double Trouble'

So, a friend of mine posted this video on her FB page and it had me in stitches!

Since my daughters call me "cat lady" I figured I'd post it here, on my blog!

I wish I had the talent this author has! I could've made millions making video cartoons about the silly things cats do! He has so many more to view, I'll be happily viewing them for days during my downtime after work!

Under The Sea

I had a babysitting gig today (and again tomorrow) with the 3 kids I watched a few times this summer & live just down the street from me.

I haven't seen them since mid-August, but they remembered me & I was greeted very warmly by the kids. Very nice.

They also remembered my "Octo-Dogs" I had made them for lunch one day.

As I was preparing supper, the oldest requested that I make the recipe again.

Not technically "seafood", but fun food resembling seafood!

Serve w/shells & cheese & a handful of goldfish crackers to have a "seafood platter"!

We had ours with tater tots and sliced strawberries.

Being so close to Halloween, our dinner conversation quickly turned into:

Zombie octopus, rips off own leg & has blood (ketchup) squirting all over!

Where do these young kids get such ideas?!

My former charges say things like this too.

If making this recipe, remember to make your cuts in the cold hot dog FIRST, then drop them into boiling water for a minute or two. The legs curl up nice.

I used 1/2 hot dogs in the above photo, but with a whole dog... the legs get super curly!

I use a sharp knife, but there's an "Octo-Dog" contraption out there for sale!

Google it!

Need A Hand? or Sand?

We made skeleton hands & sand bottles while outside enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather today!

An Attempt @ a New Recipe... coming soon!

For about 2-3 hours, on Monday evenings, we're privileged to enjoy a good meal, maybe a dessert, play a card game and have adult conversation with 2 very good friends!

Tonight, they hosted & served Stuffed Maple-glazed Pork Tenderloin & baked squash

( a new variety (I forgot the name of at the moment... Sue?) I was unfamiliar with, but will try again for sure!).

Sue also made a cake, from scratch, in the shape of a beehive!

She was recently called to serve in her wards YW program so she needed the practice of making birthdays cakes, for when the need arises!

Oooh! Can't forget about the red, ripe tomatoes that Gary grew in his garden this summer!

YUM!

Working part-time, I've finally begun to feel comfortable enough to host a few of these Monday evenings at our house.

(yeah, I need to be stress-free & believe my house is cleaned up!)

When it's our turn to host, we too, try out new recipes on our friends.

So far, the new recipes have been a success!

That or our friends are very polite & eat whatever is put in front of them, even if they hate it!

New recipe upcoming for this Monday:

Tomato Soup, with a baked Parmesan cheese disc.

Not soup from a can, but hopefully will still make us say, M-M-Mmm, Good!

If it fails to impress or taste good, Gary will have his famous grilled cheese/tomato sandwiches to step in for the rescue! Phew!

Good night! Busy week of babysitting for 3 different families this week. Tired already!

My Granddaughter & Updated Photos!

This is Carlotta. She is almost 20 months old!

She & her parents have moved into a new place. It's 1 hour closer to me than their previous place. It'll only take 13 hours of driving to see them! She is getting so big!

T tries her best to send me a photo every week. Sometimes, a couple of times a week. As you can tell, Carlotta is not always thrilled to be having her photo taken so often! I'm sure glad I get the out-takes too! Keeps me from thinking she's perfect! Though I believe she is, most days!

Here, Carlotta finally relented to smiling for a "Nonie" picture.

Wow!

She has grown lots of teeth since I last saw her in June!

B & I are trying to string together our days off so we can visit in November.

So far, it's looking good! Probably around Veterans Day weekend.

Thanks for the photos T & M & Carlotta! Keep them coming!

Friday

Spent most of the day w/C @ the Topsfield Fair! She's still afraid of cows!

Later on, we met up w/the 3 kids I only see on FRIDAYS! They went on rides, visited the baby chicks, saw some bunnies and the biggest pumpkin winner!

The "new to us" food that C & I tried @ the fair this year was Greek Chicken Teriyaki shish kabobs with Rice Pilaf and grilled veggies! Very tasty! And German Fries!

We picked up some honey sticks for T and a souvenir T-shirt for Carlotta.

I'll send them down to you T with Grammy & the slide!

The Clydesdale demo was awesome, as usual. The horse show... boring!

Except for one brown and white pinto horse (though I think it may have been a pony) that reminded me of a pony our family owned when we first moved to W. Newbury. His name was Fellah. I rode him to death, literally! (that's another story for another day!)

I'd show you the picture C took for me, but it was not clear enough to post! Sorry!

C & I spent the evening caring for the 3 kids. Glow stick fun again! It continues to be a big hit!

Little Kaya turns 5 next Friday!

She has requested I make Cookie Dough Soup as her birthday treat. She made up that recipe which I posted in an earlier blog entry.

Hmmm. This should be interesting. I'll have some cupcakes in my car as a backup plan!

Not 31 Days of...

My daughter, T, keeping a blog all about the 31 days of Halloween where she's trying to post something for others to do or create every day in the month of October.

Good for her!

This blog is NOT trying to copy her!

I remembered a few oldie but goodie Halloween ideas from years past & tweaked them a little. These 2 photos above are the finished projects I did with the girls today.

Lollipop ghosts!

I remember making them when I was a kid & with my own kids!

This time, I used scrap CLOTH instead of the Kleenex, for the "ghost".

I used fabric markers to minimize the "spread" of the marker ink.

A bit of yarn for the tie. The girls drew on the scary decor on the ghosts while I wrapped a rectangular florists dry foam block in orange paper.

(The orange paper was a bag from Walmart. I cut it up to fit. The Halloween sticker was a cheap purchase @ Walmart for $1.50.)

We stuck the lollipops sticks through the paper & into the foam block.

VOILA!

Dancing Ghosts!

The bat & pumpkins were made out of simple paper cups, construction paper & glue. The squiggly eyes were something I had in the back of my craft closet. We thought they made our creatures look scarier!

If we had time, we could've made a black cat and a white ghost using paper cups too.

Not pictured:

We made a spider using 2 black pipe cleaners, black pony beads and one large, black wooden bead for the body. Cut the pipe cleaners in half & string all of the pcs through the big wooden bead. String several beads on each of the 8 legs. You will have to do some twisting of the pipe cleaner on the last bead to secure it in place.

Voila!

A bendable SPIDER!

The girls had fun sneaking up on me and placing their spiders nearby.

I played the part of a frightened babysitter very well!

The little one has a great belly laugh when she believes she has played the best trick on me!

Next week, we'll repaint our pumpkins using ACRYLIC paint instead of the washable kind!

Yes, the rain washed away all of our work!

We'll also be doing some sand bottles using Halloween colored sand!

T & M, Directions to Reassemble Slide, w/Gramps Aid

OK, so I posted the photos in reverse order! Dang! Well, scroll down to the last one & work your way back up to the top!

PICTURE #7

It should look like the above photo in the end!

PICTURE #6

Snap in green decoration and press down, very hard. This finishes the slide!

PICTURE #5

After the 2 screws have been snugly tightened under the slide, snap the protective cover over the screw head.

PICTURE #4

Snap on the slide. It may be easier to snap in one side first, then the other with a good down push. Line up the 2 holes on underside.

PICTURE #3

The tan side wall snaps on next then a firm downward push or shove. The wall fits on the yellow post and the red shelf. It is a tight fit & may require some strength, but not force!

PICTURE #2

The red shelf goes onto the yellow posts first. At the top of the stairs. Put one side in first, then snap the other side in with a downward push. Remember, strength, not brute force! Patience!

PICTURE #1

I know how you & M assemble things and how much you enjoy it! I am going to make Grampy promise to help you until the slide has been assembled properly to insure the safety of our precious grand daughter, Carlotta!

He provides the knowledge, you may have to supply the strength.

And a Phillips Head screwdriver!

Note: We discovered that once this thing is built, it doesn't like to come apart.

We moved it up & down stairs, from room to room, all assembled, w/o a problem.

Grammy had limited space in her car, so we had no choice but to disassemble.

Enjoy!

Both the slide & your grandparents visit!

What a Mess!

Instead of reading the tabloid headlines while waiting in line @ the grocery store, I was people watching. Little kid watching, to be more exact.

He couldn't have been more than 2 years old, sitting in the child seat of the cart. He had blue denim overalls on with a red flannel shirt. With cute, little, tan hiking boots on his feet, he looked like he was ready to go plow the fields or milk the cows.

But first, he was going to need to take a bath!

His young mother had given him a full size chocolate cupcake to eat while she tried to shop.

(Guess she forgot the bag of goldfish @ home!)

He was messy from the chocolate cupcake, that's a given.

But this full size cupcake had...

a MEGA-MOUND of RED FROSTING!

(A Halloween special from the Bakery Dept., I guess.)

He was covered, from the top of his blond hair to the bottom of his double chin, with the reddest frosting I have ever seen! He was so happy, even his smile was covered in red frosting!

I was tempted to ask the mother if I could snap a photo (it was that messy & adorable)

but then...

I saw his 4 year old sister in the back of the cart, under the piles of full grocery bags!

She too, was covered with red frosting & chocolate! More so than her little brother! Wow!

I felt the mothers pain & embarrassment. She was more than likely double guessing her decision to give in to demands for food by giving them the closest treat she saw.

I've been in "sticky" situations, way back when! The last thing that mother needed was for a complete stranger to make her feel like the whole world was watching this fiasco (which we were)

by asking to take her messy kids picture!!

So I restrained myself.

They left the store.

As the cashier rang up my order while the bagger bagged (they were older, like me) we all commented,

"How adorably cute were those kids! So glad that phase of my life is over!"

My own cart was finally full of the bagged groceries, I stopped @ the in-store bank for an errand then headed to my car. Popped the trunk, put groceries in the trunk, returned the cart to the "pen" and began to leave the parking lot.

I got in one more smile/chuckle to myself as I saw the mother in the corner space, with both kids still in the cart. She was doing her best to clean off her kids & probably hoping she had enough wet wipes in the car!

X-D X-D X-D

Trains. Not Just For Boys!

Pardon the poor quality of the photo. You get what you pay for & this phone was free!

Mother Nature continued her wet cleansing of New England, preventing us from enjoying any outside time today.

Not to worry!

We had several craft projects, puzzles, games, Halloween books and a good old fashioned Strawberry Shortcake movie to keep us occupied!

And, later on... TRAINS!

I was a bit nervous bringing the trains to play with today.

The other kids liked playing with them, but I wasn't sure about these new girls.

Turns out, I was nervous for nothing!

They played with the tracks, trains & other accessories for over 90 minutes!

I had to build 2 separate tracks. I found out quickly, they don't like each others trains on the same track.

No problem! I like figuring out track layouts.

Not My Idea!

I am a thief.

Of ideas.

Ideas to keep kids occupied and happy.

Of craft ideas to do with them during too cold, too wet & snowy days.

Of holiday decor and games to peak their interests.

I wish I had the talents or originality to think of such things on my own!

But... Alas!

I do not.

So,

THANK YOU!!

to all those people in the world who DO have such talents & share them.

In magazines, on the Internet & countless other places.

I appreciate it.

Your ideas make my job much easier.

This picture, is of some craft kits I bought @ Dollar Tree.

With some white paper plates, glue, markers and colored paper...

I have ideas for a few rainy day activities to do with the kids I watch

just by looking @ the packaging!!

I know, I could open the kits & do what's inside w/them.

But then, I would forget about this idea & later on,

when I need a project to do w/other kids on a rainy day...

my mind would go blank.

Which @ my age... I shouldn't let happen too often.

So, the kits I buy, go into the craft closet to jog my mind in the future.

So...

It was a lazy day!

I felt a bit guilty about being lazy, knowing my daughter, T and her family were moving and could've used my help. I couldn't have lifted much, but I would've gladly taken Carlotta off their hands so they could make the move, in peace.

Alas, I live over 700 miles away and could not help them out!

So I did the next best thing... nothing!

Except for buying a roast for tomorrows dinner, that is.

And washed the few dishes I used. No laundry to do. Too rainy for yard work.

I often thought of T, M, Carlotta and C too. Does that count as being productive?

I got high score on the bubble game I play when I'm bored. That's doing something, right?

I learned there's nothing on TV on an autumn Saturday except college football. College football is not as exciting to me as the NFL. It has been said you should learn 1 new thing every day. Does that count?

Happy October!